Queen hailed as Style Icon for Over 50s

The women have spoken and they believe Queen Elizabeth to be the most stylish woman over 50. In a groundbreaking new style icon survey created by a leading fashion retailer, more than 2,000 women were questioned about who they felt should represent the most fashionable of women over 50, and the answer has most certainly been surprising, though perhaps not entirely unexpected. It seems that Kate Middleton is not the only style icon in the royal family.

Trend Setters Over 50

According to a spokesperson for the retailer, their customers are not following in the coattails of some of Hollywood’s younger trend setters – they are more interested in turning their attention to women who are able to represent their demographic in a more realistic, mature and elegant manner. Some of the most popular names that have come up over the course of the survey includes Dame Helen Mirren and Mary Berry.

Her Majesty Wins by a Landslide

Those who think that Her Majesty managed to take the “crown” by just slipping under the radar are mistaken – she won by a landslide of 49% of the votes. The likes of Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep followed behind her. As Dame Mirren is now in her 70’s, this award is truly a great tribute to her own individual style.

What surprised many people is the fact that Her Majesty was able to beat out the likes of Kris Kardashian and the supermodel Jerry Hall in order to claim the title of most fashionable. While the queen might be imposing in her own right, she’s certainly not a fashion “risk taker” in the true sense of the word, but this is perhaps what is appealing to her target audience, who are dead set on avoiding the “mutton dressed as lamb” look.

Leading in Style

Spokesperson for the retailer conducting the pole feel that it is a huge step forward that women in their 50’s have style icons of their own age to look up to, instead of feeling forced to try to copy style icons in their 20’s. If history has taught us anything it is that style is a very personal thing, and it is important that women make it their own. With guides like Queen Elizabeth II, Meryl Streep and the lovely Dame Helen Mirren, it seems that ladies in their 50’s have the opportunity to show the world that you don’t have to be 20 to turn heads.

7 comments

This subject comes up frequently in my conversations with my mother. She constantly bemoans the types and styles of clothing available in stores these day, and I agree with her. It seems they are very skimpy and she has a difficult time finding clothes she feels are appropriate for her age. I’ve never been much of a trend follower, and usually wear what I deem to be appropriate for the occasion, with an emphasis on comfort.

I think it’s nice to see older women finally getting the recognition they deserve. I think part of the reason may be that women have more buying power these days, so can drive, or at least nudge, the market. I think Queen Elizabeth has a refined elegance, and so do many of the older women and women my age that I admire. I don’t want to try to look 20 or 30 years younger than I am, and I know my mother certainly doesn’t want to dress in the same styles as her granddaughters.

There has to be some sort of happy medium for women in their 50s and 60s, who should aspire to a look that is more elegant than what the 30-somethings are wearing, and less dowdy than what the 80-somethings are comfortable in.
Very few people have the means to get custom tailoring done in a way that fits a more mature body shape. We shouldn’t have to spend hours in the gym every day because the fashion world refuses to accomodate a definition of beauty that shifts (unfortunately, it shifts downward!) with the passing decades.

The Queen has always dressed appropriately for her age and for the public duties she is required to carry out and she has had the advantage of wise and excellent counsel from the designers she has patronised over the years. Obviously in full court regalia, diamonds, pearls, satins and silks, she is readily identifiable as a monarch, but in ‘normal’ clothes, she has to stand out from the crowd, hence the clear simple colours she wears and the off-the-face hats. It can’t be easy to be ‘on parade’ all the time. I agree she is an icon, but I wouldn’t personally emulate her style and am very glad that I can, unlike her, wear what I please!

Very well stated, Sue! While I have scooted past fifty by quite a bit, the Queen is older than my mother would be were she still alive, and I find it laughable to imagine myself kitted out in her style. Like you, I do appreciate her sort of regal flare and style, but I am happy that I, too, am not in the public eye and can wear what I choose to, frequently off the racks in the thrift stores!

Fortunately I have many retail clothing shops around me that have a beautiful selection, but I agree that it is becoming harder to find clothing that I consider appropriate and that fits my sense of style. Oftentimes I usually stick to nice blouses and slacks to accommodate this, but I would like to have more options! We aren’t gone yet after all! You think the market would realize that!

The mother of a friend of mine from school days met the queen because there was an initiative for the queen to meet with other people who had their eightieth birthdays in roughly the same year as she did (and the lady I know fell into that age bracket). Apparently the queen is very tiny; I am not so I do not think the clothes the queen wears would suit me. Still what is really important is that she wears garments that suit her. She does so – just as well as she is “on show” much of the time (as Sue has observed above) and I am sure she will continue so to do.

Wouldn’t it be great if true style and elegance returned to fashion?! Like others have said here, it’s getting harder and harder to find clothing that leaves at least a little bit to the imagination! I don’t know why the manufacturers don’t realize that we don’t need necklines up to our mouths, but we don’t necessarily want them halfway to our navels either.

I think runway fashions are fun to look at… and beautiful for a runway models, but very few of us… the “real women” 😀 are built like runway models.

Queen Elizabeth has always been a fashion icon and it’s nice to see her recognized for that fact.

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